social media
Top Video Marketing Trends in 2022
We know that our clients want to stay on top of the latest marketing trends so as to increase their brand awareness. Considering that in 2022 it is predicted that 85% of internet traffic will be video traffic, we feel like this is an important topic to cover!
Here are some of the Top Video Marketing Trends 2022.
1. Silent Video With Captions
Take a moment to think about your time scrolling on social media feeds or other video platforms. You may realize that you are often in an environment where having the volume up isn’t the most tactful option. Now think about how this affects the way your viewers experience your content. The average viewer of your video content will be watching silently, relying on closed captions to understand the context. Even more significant is how accessible your content is to disabled communities. Closed captions are essential to reaching and connecting your entire audience. It is important to take this into account when creating video content for social media so that you can prioritize visual engagement, and worry less about SFX.
2. The Infinity Loop
There is something so satisfying about a seamless video loop. One where you can’t tell where it starts and where it ends. This can be beneficial to your content in multiple ways.
The infinity loop encourages repeat viewing. Without a definitive start and end point that cues viewers to scroll on, the viewers’ eyes will remain engaged with your content longer.
It can be more aesthetically pleasing. If your social media pages auto-play your videos, having an infinity loop helps to maintain the suspension of disbelief – the illusion that keeps the audience engaged in the story and world you are portraying. Anything that pulls the audience out of your video experience is considered a detriment to this technique. An infinity loop won’t solve this problem, but it can help smooth out transitions.
3. Behind the Scenes
Remember when DVDs came packed full of behind-the-scenes content? Director commentary, conception art, and tons of on-set footage. Nowadays, you find this type of content on a brand/production’s social media pages. There is a reason this type of content was included in content releases – because people love it! No need to shy away from what’s going on behind the scenes, at the office, or in your personal life! If you feel comfortable sharing, this can help humanize your social media pages and increase your engagement with your audience.
4. Guest Stars & Experts
A great way to add to your viewers’ experience is by introducing them to outside content that may be relevant to their interests. This can mean anything from sharing relevant articles to recommending outside content that your audience may enjoy, to bringing in guest stars to talk about specific subjects! By now you have probably seen the occasional “Social Media Takeover” campaign that many brands and productions utilize in their social media strategies. This usually consists of a notable figure in your specific industry or community spending 24 hours posting on your brand’s social media pages, making sure to utilize all forms of content posting such as stories and reels. Bringing in outside sources to your video content can be an eye-catching technique that is sure to benefit and engage your audience.
What to Wear On Set
A commonly asked question from our clients is how they should dress for their on-camera appearance. You may think you should put on your Sunday best and call it a day, but it can be a bit trickier than that. As your videographers, it’s our job to make sure you look stunning on camera. Here are a few tips that can help us achieve that!
A good rule of thumb is to stick to solid, neutral colors. Loud patterns like stripes or florals can often come across much more starkly on camera than they do in person. Bright or neon colors can be distracting, and even sometimes create problems in post-production. A solid, neutral color like brown or navy is going to define you against your background, without disrupting the image composition. Avoid black and white, which can also pose technical problems – although some white/black is fine, such as undershirts or other minimal features. Your Producer will typically guide you in which colors would be best for you to wear during your shoot.
You may be asked to wear make-up while in front of the camera. This is not to do with making you appear a certain way, but rather, to offset glares and other distortions that can be caused by the camera. This may be as simple as a mattifying powder. If you choose to do a little extra, or if there is a make-up artist on the set, there are a few areas that either you or they should focus on. The camera can make you look washed-out, so it is important to add back color to your appearance. This can be done by adding a bold, matte lip color, and neutral blush tone to the face. The eyes are also another key area to define – eyeliner and mascara are often a must in accentuating these features. A neutral eyeshadow can also go a long way in making the eyes pop. Higher-budget shoots like commercials or live shows will have a greater need/use for a professional makeup artist on the set, while smaller-budget shoots will typically opt for those on camera to do their own makeup. If this sounds like you, then these tips will certainly come in handy.
Another thing to consider is jewelry. You may have already guessed that the biggest issue is that it can look distracting. This is true, but another big reason is that it’s loud! If you choose to wear jewelry, opt for simpler pieces. Large pieces, dangly earrings, and bracelets are almost always picked up by the microphone. Stud earrings and single-chain necklaces are ideal.
The last thing to consider is more-so personal preference and style, and a question that your Director will answer by communicating to those commissioning the video. Do you want your video to evoke the times, show the culture of your business, and the individuality of those on screen? You may be open to trendier options in all of the aforementioned categories. Do you want to avoid your video feeling dated? Looking for something that isn’t going to define itself in a certain era or style? Classic and simple is your friend. You could even use your business or organization’s uniform/logo.
By keeping these tips in mind when you are preparing for your shoot, you can feel confident that you will look your best on camera. Your production team will make the magic happen behind the camera, all tying together for your beautiful video!
5 Reasons You Need Video Marketing
If you aren’t already using video to get the word out about your business, you should be. Video is the best way to put your brand, product, or story in front of your audience. When reaching your audience, your goal is to keep them engaged. Video is the best way in our modern world to keep the attention of your viewers, clients, and supporters.
We’ve compiled a list of the top 5 reasons we think you should invest in video marketing for your brand.
1. Video has the largest reach of all forms of marketing.
The Cisco Video Networking Index predicts that video will make up 82% of internet traffic by the end of 2022. That’s almost your ENTIRE market audience with one form of content. There are no two ways about it – you really cannot reach your audience without video.
2. It is the most engaging form of content.
With stunning footage, animation, and graphics, your video has the potential to engage your audience for a compounded amount of time compared to other forms of content. With video, your vision can be expertly crafted to showcase your brand, product, or business. With the growing popularity of video formats such as IGTV, reels, and TikTok, it’s clear that video is the preferred form of media intake across all market audiences.
3. Social Media platforms prefer and reward video content.
Video content tends to perform the best on most social media platforms. Even on Instagram – a platform originally created for photo sharing – videos see more engagement than any other type of content. These platforms also want to encourage their users to create content using their new features, a lot of which are video-centered due to the high level of engagement! Utilizing stories, reels, and adding video to your posts is going to push you up in that algorithm.
4. It’s the best way to share your brand’s culture and values.
Some of our most popular social media content has just been behind-the-scenes looks at our team doing what we love! Obviously, people don’t go on social media to just see advertisements, but they do like to engage with their favorite brands. Showing your audience a day in the life of your business, your team having fun together, or even how-to videos is a great way to give your audience a different side of your business.
5. It is the most fun and creative marketing content to make!
Without a doubt, video is the most fun and engaging form of marketing for the creator, too! Seeing your vision come to life on screen gives you a whole new level of brand awareness, audience engagement, and marketing style for your business.
2022 PRODUCTION REEL
Coming March 31.
SBS: Jessie Rees Foundation
This week we celebrate an incredibly impactful Orange Couty organization, the Jessie Rees Foundation. Since 2011, the JRF has been encouraging kids with cancer to Never Ever Give Up. They have sent over 350,000 “JoyJars®” to kids fighting cancer, helping them and their families to experience happiness during some of the most difficult experiences imaginable. These JoyJars® were created by Jessica Joy Rees, a 12-year-old girl who fought cancer in 2011. The 64oz plastic jars are absolutely stuffed to the brim with age-appropriate toys and games and are given to both the child fighting cancer as well as their siblings supporting alongside them.
Jessie felt an innate need to bring encouragement to other children and families fighting childhood cancer and remind them to Never Ever Give Up. Although Jessie is no longer with us, her impact has spread far and wide to all 50 states, and over 40 different countries. Her family has upheld her mission and legacy through the Jessie Reese Foundation, spreading their message for children and families fighting cancer to NEGU®.
Any family with a Courageous Kid, SuperSibling, or Courageous Parent facing childhood cancer can sign up for Club NEGU, a free program that will deliver monthly boosts of love, encouragement, and joy for a full 18 months. The Jessie Rees Foundation aims to be able to say “yes” to any Children’s Hospital requesting JoyJars®.
The JRF also created the NEGU Athletes® and NEGU All-Stars®. This program allows individuals with a platform to spread the message of NEGU®. These are adulthood athletes, celebrities, and survivors of childhood cancer who travel to Children’s Hospitals to deliver JoyJars® and provide extra encouragement to those in long-term care.
Emblem Media Productions has had the enormous joy of being a part of their Video Production team. Together, we have been able to create stunning videos and live stream productions that reach all NEGU families. The Jessie Reese Foundation is a hugely impactful organization in their community and around the world, which is why we are so proud to support and uplift them.
Small Business Spotlight: Dressember™ Foundation
The first feature in our Small Business Spotlight series is one close to our heart. The Dressember Foundation is a non-profit based out of Orange County, that helps raise awareness and funds for anti-human trafficking efforts around the world. Although our Founder, Blaire Wayland, has participated in the Dressember style challenge for several years, Emblem Media Productions had a chance to tell their story last year in the Dressember Documentary.
We sat down and spoke with Blythe Hill – CEO and Founder of the Dressember Foundation. Hill told us the story of how she became involved in the anti-trafficking movement, and how wearing a dress became synonymous with the freedom and dignity of survivors of trafficking.
Hill first came to know of the horrors of human trafficking in 2005 when reading an article that described children being bought, sold, and transported across international lines to be sexually assaulted by paying “customers”. Hill recalls, “I had never heard about human trafficking before, and I was physically sick.” Having a personal connection to the issue of Child Sexual Assault, a fire was immediately ignited.
Hill was so determined, she says, “I thought I would have to quit my job, change careers, and move to India to have the impact that I wanted to have.”
“My skills didn’t line up with contributing and engaging in the fight in a significant way”, says Hill. “I’m someone who’s interested in fashion, trend analysis, writing, and puns.” As time went on, Hill became discouraged in her ability to join this fight.
“I was getting my Master’s degree [in English] and just had, like, no free time, no social life, and needed a creative outlet,” says Hill. “I decided to create a style challenge where I would wear dresses every day for the month of December, and I called it Dressember!”
Hill first did the style challenge by herself – after all, it was just for personal expression. However, the next year she was approached by friends who wanted to participate with her. Then the following year, even more women were interested in participating. Of this exponential growth, Hill says, “I began to realize that maybe these people weren’t just humoring me – that maybe, this was a good idea.”
A friend encouraged Hill to align the Dressember style challenge with a cause – to create an annual fundraiser. “I realized that this could totally flop, and I could look really stupid”, recalls Hill. “But I thought, If I can help even one person, then it’s worth looking like a fool to the entire world.
So in 2009, which was year 5 of the style challenge, Dressember aligned with International Justice Mission – the number one leading anti-trafficking organization in the world. Hill set a goal of $25,000 for the first-ever Dressember fundraiser. “It was a huge, scary goal,” says Hill. To her amazement, the fundraiser met her goal – on the first day of the campaign. As of 2021, the Dressember annual fundraiser has raised over $15,000,000 to directly support victims and survivors of trafficking worldwide.
The story of the Dressember Foundation is not only inspiring but has made a direct impact on the community. The Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force reported that even with the pandemic, human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation continued as traffickers and exploiters took advantage of the vulnerabilities of victims. The Orange County Child Abuse Registry experienced an increase in calls for Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) that identified more Orange County youth compared to previous years along with information from law enforcement. It was also reported that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, much of the work helping victims navigate the criminal justice system process was significantly slowed as investigations and the court system were unable to move at the same levels as before the pandemic.
The Dressember Foundation focuses on prevention, intervention, and survivor empowerment. This includes identifying at-risk youth and providing early intervention and education to significantly reduce the risk of youth being targeted by traffickers. They also focus on creating safe, culturally-sensitive exit pathways for those trapped in exploitation. Perhaps most importantly, Dressember provides and funds long-term support and rehabilitation for survivors of trafficking, to ensure they do not fall back into exploitation. This means directly supporting survivors through safe housing, legal support, education, and career opportunities. The goal is always to help survivors embrace the life they deserve – one of freedom and dignity. These funds and support methods reach worldwide, fighting human trafficking not just in the US, but in the Philippines, Uganda, India, Thailand, and many other countries. Though most in-person Dressember events are in the Orange County area, there are Dressember advocates from all over the world. Emblem Media Productions is honored to support and uplift this amazing organization.
What to Expect on Filming Day
Your filming day has finally arrived! Once you have consulted with one of our Producers and paid your deposit, you will be able to book your filming date. Here’s an idea of what to expect the day the camera starts rolling.
The Emblem MP team will arrive on location approximately 30 minutes to 1 hour before filming commences, depending on the scale of the production. A Producer will meet with the client to discuss their vision, while our assistants and camera operators begin setting up the production. Emblem uses a variety of cameras, lights, microphones, and other equipment to create your video. We will require the use of the available electrical outlets on location. Once the equipment has been set, the Director and team will make adjustments to lighting and camera placement, to ensure a beautiful image.
If your video includes talent, they will need to be fitted with a microphone to capture their audio. This process can vary by production. Some productions may require the use of microphones that will be affixed to the actors’ clothing. Others may only use microphones standing at a distance. Our team ensures a relaxed and positive environment for the talent. We want you to be happy with your video!
Once filming has begun, the Director and team will work all their magic. You can expect the Director to give instruction regarding talent performance, the number of takes, and lighting or audio adjustments. Our team is experienced and capable, and we pride ourselves on the thoughtful execution of our client’s vision. However, if you have a request or adjustment to be made during filming, we encourage you to speak to the Director. We will always do our best to fulfill your video needs.
That’s a wrap! After filming has ended, the Producer will speak with the Client to discuss the next steps. Depending on your production, this can be a timeline for when you will receive your video. During this time our assistants will take down the set, and make sure to leave your location tidy.
Congratulations! This is the biggest step in your video’s production. Our editors will now sweeten your footage with seamless transitions, vibrant color, sound, and any titles or graphics you have requested. Your completed video will be on its way to you in no time.
What Kind of Video do I Need?
So you’ve realized that your business, personal brand, or nonprofit can be brought to the next level with video marketing. You know that Emblem Media Productions has got your back. But what kind of video would your business benefit from?
Video marketing is a wide umbrella that covers all types of videography. The possibilities are endless. Some common types of videos that our Clients request are interviews, commercials, event coverage, promotional footage, or even just beautiful product footage.
Maybe your brand or nonprofit has an impactful, heartwarming start-up story. An interview with your team can help share your mission statement within your community, and give your audience a deeper look at who you are.
Are you a commercial business in need of a more branded marketing video? We can assist you in commercial script writing and casting, to create a high-quality video you can share with your own clients, your social media, or business partners.
Perhaps you have a large event or business conference you want to film for organizational use. Emblem can offer multi-camera packages to make sure every important moment and detail of your event is captured.
As of 2021, Emblem has also expanded to include live-production videography. This is a large-scale production that requires additional crew members and multiple cameras. The type of production is intended for those who want to broadcast unedited, live event footage to the internet. This has become a popular video event option during the COVID-19, where social distancing restrictions have created a barrier for in-person events.
If you’re still unsure of what video style would fit your vision, the best thing to do is give us a call. We can help interpret your video needs, and together we can create a plan to execute your video to its fullest potential!
TRAILER – Dressember™ Documentary
Follow the inspiring journey of Blythe Hill and the creation of Dressember™ Foundation, an advocacy campaign dedicated to raising awareness and funds to fight human trafficking around the world. Content Warning: This documentary contains real stories from survivors of trafficking and the sexual and physical abuse they faced. Although we approached these topics with sensitivity in mind, we trust you to know your limits. Therefore, viewer discretion is advised. Produced by Emblem Media Productions and Broomstick Engine Director: Jason Russell Co-Editors: Blaire Wayland and Erin White